


All for the (wrong) game

by dayscrown



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andreil, Bisexual Kevin Day, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Headcanon, Ice Hockey Player Original Character, M/M, POV Kevin Day, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, mentions of Riko Moriyama and the conditions in the Nest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29677323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dayscrown/pseuds/dayscrown
Summary: "Exy and Ice Hockey share so many similarities that they ended up positioning their players at opposing battlefields. If there was anything an exy player hated more than a lacrosse player, it was an ice hockey player.Kevin Day was not an exception to this rule."Or alternatively, the one where Kevin Day gets to experience his own cheesy enemies to lovers romance with the captain of the Palmetto Ice Hockey team.
Relationships: Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Kevin Day & David Wymack, Kevin Day & Neil Josten, Kevin Day/Jiang Eric, Kevin Day/Original Character(s), Kevin Day/Original Male Character(s), Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 9
Kudos: 73





	All for the (wrong) game

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks for the beta reading goes to @abbyalliterally on instagram

Palmetto State University was mostly known for its Exy and Football teams. After their victory against the best Class I team the previous semester, the Foxes of the Exy team brought havoc and attention to an otherwise forgotten sports program. Considering that some of their players also held titles such as ‘best striker’, ‘fastest player’ and ‘best goalkeeper’, that was no surprise. Unfortunately, despite rivalries being settled outside of campus, the foxes were still at civil war.

The PSU Ice Hockey team had been climbing up the rankings in the last years. Perhaps it had been the changes in the lineup or the newly appointed coach, but the Ice Hockey team brought another victory to the university, despite it being undermined by the crashing of the Edgar Allan Ravens the previous semester. 

Usually, the players of each varsity team kept to themselves, and even if the football and exy players had some few and small interactions, ice hockey players focused solely on their own kind. Thankfully, the Foxhole Rink was located in the other side of the campus, and the players didn’t have to interact amongst themselves unless they shared classes or during lunch in the cafeteria.  
The football team was, surprisingly, the most peaceful of the three teams.

However, Exy and Ice Hockey share so many similarities that they ended up positioning their players at opposing battlefields. If there was anything an exy player hated more than a lacrosse player, it was an ice hockey player. 

Kevin Day was not an exception to this rule.

He had had his fair share of interactions with athletes of various sports. Banquets, interviews, conventions, and other kinds of events brought the starring striker in contact with every facet of the NCAA. From them all, he found Ice Hockey players to be the worst; complete uncivilized savages. Exy didn’t necessarily require size. Neil Josten was proof enough of that. The smaller striker could run faster than any other player in all of the Class I teams. However, ice hockey players were more often than not, built like bears. 

But perhaps, it was the similarities that made Kevin hate them so much. Or perhaps, it was that particular lineup of players. All loud, all obnoxious, all violent and brutal and harsh.  
Exactly like their exy counterparts.

There was violence, that was certain. Both Exy and Ice Hockey took guts and boiling blood. Which is what was causing the friction between the two varsity teams.  
Interactions were few but when they happened?

Blood was spilled. Quite literally, in the most extreme of occasions.

It had been worse when Seth was around. However, neither Kevin nor Matt were holding back from starting fights themselves. It sometimes got completely out of hand, to the point the Dean had to intervene more often than not. It would start with small remarks, sarcastic comments or straight up insults and it would evolve in fist fights and yelling, bruises, bloody noses and black eyes. 

Kevin was not exactly known for keeping any comments to himself, much less keep his hands to himself when feeling threatened or being provoked. The same could also be said for the Ice Hockey Captain. 

If there was any of the ice hockey players Kevin despised with every fiber of his being, it was Jiang Eric.

Jiang Eric, Number 1, Goaltender and Captain of the PSU Ice Hockey team. Kevin didn’t know much else about him, and he didn’t really care to find out. For whatever reason, during fights between the two teams, Eric did not seem to care enough to insult anyone else but Kevin. His otherwise calm and collected demeanor crumbled to dust when Kevin opened his mouth and got himself involved. Problem was that neither of them had anything bad to say to each other about their game; Eric was perhaps the only one who was as dedicated to Ice Hockey as Kevin was to Exy. 

Kevin had been to one of their games, only because Wymack had once made the whole Exy team go, claiming that it would be a good show of ‘school spirit’. Kevin would never admit that he could not have helped but admire the passion Eric showed about the game. It may not have been Exy, but he had skill, and he was a natural born leader. He was everything Kevin was not; he relied on instinct, he inspired confidence amongst his team players and he knew how to end fights instead of instigating them. The players in the team looked up to him, as if admiring him even. 

It was too bad that that’s how far the respect between striker and goaltender went. It was due to the lack of remarks about each other’s skills that led the two to getting more personal when involved in a fight. 

And when the two of them met, it was chaos. 

Anyone on campus could confirm that. On the rare occasion the two players would cross each other, there was little chance of not starting a fight. Sometimes, there was no reason at all. Eric would only say that he despised people who used their name to verbally abuse others. Kevin would say that he despised hypocrites. After all, if Eric was the calm and wise Captain he showed to others, it wouldn’t explain why he went feral every time he lay eyes on Kevin.

There have been several stories, several instances when the two of them had been found quarreling. 

One time specifically, the cousins, Kevin and Neil happened to run into the goaltender and three other ice hockey players on the parking lot of the Fox Tower. It had been after their afternoon classes, which meant the adrenaline was still up high, their annoyance slightly peaked. All it took was a small spark.

The two groups could had ignored one another, but seeing as it had been the day before the first game of the season for the Exy team, the ice hockey players were especially nasty. It wouldn't be the first time they were the ones who provoked the fight, not that anyone was keeping score.

Eric didn’t pay them as much attention but his teammates were not hesitant to start making remarks about Exy and about the players themselves;

"Funny how these guys got lucky last year and now they think they own the campus," one of them said with a scoff, looking satisfied with himself. He wasn't the only one who was going around, saying stuff like that. Many owned the Foxes' victory to the 'sacrifice' the Trojans had made last minute. It wasn't as if the Foxes weren't aware themselves that they had been given a rare opportunity. But none of them thought they had won the championships out of pure luck. If anything, they had all fought tooth and nail.

"It's also funny how everyone is making a fuss over a game of stickball," the other added and they two laughed as if they had said the funniest thing in the world. Their Captain merely grinned but had nothing to add himself. 

It was when they used the word ‘stickball’ that Kevin finally reacted and decided to put them back in their place. He was never one to sit and take it.

Andrew didn’t bother stopping him as Kevin mouthed off the two of them. His comments were not just spiteful; they were spot on. He had seen them playing and that was enough for him to start criticizing any techniques that are similar to Exy’s.

“You are sloppy at best, incompetent at worst. Perhaps you should have tried field hockey before actually getting on ice,” was his concluding line after a series of critiques that seemed to had taken the two ice hockey players off guard. 

And being the loyal, team person he was, Eric decided to finally draw the line and intervene.

“Get off your high horse, Day. Not everyone is gonna kiss the ground you are walking on. You’ve long fallen from grace.”

Kevin was livid. Not so much due to the words themselves but due to Eric's condescending tone. “What would you know about grace, Jiang? You’ve barely managed to win one season in your entire academic career. It seems you’ve hit your head too many times on thick ice.”

Eric didn’t even falter at that. Kevin hated him for his ability to remain calm, even when insulted. It was impossible to read him, most of the times. 

“Is that really the best you can do, Day? Keep belittling me until you feel better about yourself? Try harder, maybe then you’ll be able to trick yourself into thinking you’ve achieved something today.”

Kevin knew that Eric was saying these things only to rile him up. After all, it was Eric's teammates who started the fight this time. Kevin should have simply turned a blind eye and remain as apathetic as the twins or Neil were. But Eric's grilling worked. Kevin had thrown punches for smaller insults, so he didn’t exactly hold back this time. 

Eric grinned because, of course, Kevin was predictable. The taller player stopped the punch within an inch of his face, gripping Kevin’s fist in his palm. He was not enough of an asshole to twist Kevin’s hand behind his back like he would usually do, seeing as that was his left and once broken hand. Besides, he rather enjoyed the flash of surprise on Kevin’s expression. 

The two ended up having a staring contest instead. Eric could feel Kevin shaking with anger but neither of them pulled away, refusing to be the first to back down.

“Jesus, Andrew could cut the sexual tension with a knife.”

Both Eric and Kevin broke apart in favor of glaring at Nicky. Nicky only gave them a boyish grin and an almost playful shrug. It was enough to kill the mood for a fight and Kevin quickly retracted his hand, rubbing his wrist slowly. Eric straightened up his posture in return and shoved his hands in his pockets. Andrew seemed unimpressed and simply gave Kevin a look that read like, 'Are you finished?' before turning around and heading inside the building. 

The two groups finally went on about their day after that, but the pounding Kevin felt in his chest echoed in his ears even after Eric and his teammates were out of sight.


End file.
